1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a pump type liquid discharging apparatus capable of manually discharging or atomizing a fluid having high viscosity such as shampoos or fluid having low viscosity such as cosmetics, and particularly relates to a virgin seal body of the liquid discharging apparatus for keeping the liquid discharging apparatus virgin, namely, in an unused state.
2. Background of the Invention
A conventional liquid discharging apparatus such as a pump dispenser and so forth is provided with means for fixing a nozzle head so as not to move to prevent a liquid in a container from being discharged erroneously from the nozzle head while transporting it before it is used.
Meanwhile, a virgin seal is employed for proving that the liquid discharging apparatus is not at all used, namely, proving a so-called unused state.
There are generally two types of fixed means of the virgin seal, one type is to temporarily fix a nozzle head to a cap or the like at the bottom dead center thereof, and another type is to temporarily fix the nozzle head to the cap or the like at the top dead center thereof. The nozzle head is released from the fixation to the cap by these two types of fixed means when the liquid discharging apparatus is used so that the liquid discharging apparatus is placed in a usable state.
Particularly, since the fixed means for temporarily fixing the nozzle head at the top dead center does not render a spring body built into the liquid discharging apparatus in an extremely compressed state, the effectiveness of the spring body is always maintained, and hence this fixed means is considered more useful compared with the fixed means for temporarily fixing the nozzle head at the bottom dead center.
The liquid discharging apparatus disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Registration No. 589 452 discloses an example of the fixed means for temporarily fixing the nozzle head at the top dead center. A cylindrical stopper for preventing a movable side guide cylinder that is a peripheral body of a pressing head contacting the outer surface of a fixed side guide cylinder from lowering is provided on an outer surface of the fixed side guide cylinder. The fixed side guide cylinder stands upright from the upper surface of a screw cap at one side thereof to which a liquid discharging apparatus body is fixed, and the cylindrical stopper has a hinge formed of a thin plate for ripping use, and a pinch portion protruding from the outer surface thereof at the other side while a part of the cylindrical stopper is separated so as to be opened one way by way of the hinge. The cylindrical stopper engages with the fixed side guide cylinder from the outside, and after engagement between the cylinder stopper and the fixed side guide cylinder from the outside, the separating portion of the part of the cylindrical stopper is connected and fixed to the other portion of the cylinder stopper so as to lock the pressing of the pressing head.
However, in the conventional liquid discharging apparatus, the cylindrical stopper is engaged between the movable side guide cylinder and the screw cap from the outside but it is formed of an element independent of the liquid discharging apparatus. Since the cylindrical stopper is independent of the other parts of the liquid discharging apparatus, the number of parts of the liquid discharging apparatus increases as a whole, and also the number of assembly steps for the parts increases. Such a cylindrical stopper is complex in shape and a mold for manufacturing the cylindrical stopper is expensive.
In view of the problems of the conventional liquid discharging apparatus, it is an object of the invention to provide a liquid discharging apparatus having a simple construction and capable of reducing the number of parts or components thereof with high efficiency.
The inventor of this application endeavored himself to study the problems of the conventional liquid discharging apparatus and has found that a virgin seal body can be integrated with a cap so as to be separable therefrom, based on which the invention has been completed.
That is, a first aspect of the invention resides in a liquid discharging apparatus for discharging a liquid contained in a container 1 from a nozzle head 3 that is mounted on a cap 2 attached to an opening of the container 1 and is movable up and down together with a piston 5. A virgin seal body 11 is integrated with the cap 2 so as to be separable therefrom for preventing the nozzle head 3 from moving downward.
A second aspect of the invention resides in a liquid discharging apparatus for discharging a liquid contained in a container 1 from a nozzle head 3 that is mounted on a cap 2 attached to an opening of the container 1 and is movable up and down together with a piston 5. A virgin seal body 11 is integrated with the cap 2 and positioned around a piston engagement hole 2a formed on the cap 2, wherein the nozzle head 3 is fixed to its top dead center by the virgin seal body 11 when the liquid discharging apparatus is not used.
A third aspect of the invention resides in the liquid discharging apparatus wherein the virgin seal is cylindrical and is connected to the cap 2 by way of a thin portion 11A formed along the piston engagement hole 2a. 
A fourth aspect of the invention resides in the liquid discharging apparatus further comprising a vertical slit 12 defined in the virgin seal body 11 and having a pinch portion 13 at an opened portion thereof.
A fifth aspect of the invention resides in the liquid discharging apparatus further comprising a slip stopping portion 14 at least on an outer peripheral surface of the virgin seal body 11 having the pinch portion 13.
A sixth aspect of the invention resides in the liquid discharging apparatus wherein the pinch portion 13 has a cornered portion 13a that stands upright.
A seventh aspect of the invention resides in the liquid discharging apparatus wherein the virgin seal body 11 has a thin portion 11A having a notch 11B so that the virgin seal body 11 can be easily separated from the cap 2.
An eighth aspect of the invention resides in the liquid discharging apparatus wherein the virgin seal body 11 has a tab T serving as a pinch portion 13 and extended therefrom at the opened portion of the vertical slit 12 so as to be easily pinched.
A ninth aspect of the invention resides in the liquid discharging apparatus further comprising a valve seal body 51A provided on a valve seat 51 formed in the piston 5, said valve seal body 51A being separable from the valve seat 51 when a valve 8 inside a housing 4 attached to the cap 2 moves upward.
A tenth aspect of the invention resides in a liquid discharging apparatus for discharging a liquid contained in a container 1 from a nozzle head 3 that is mounted on a cap 2 attached to an opening of the container 1 and is movable up and down together with a piston 5. A virgin seal body 11 is positioned around a piston engagement hole 2a formed on the cap 2 and integrated with the cap 2 so as to be separable from the cap 2 by way of a thin portion 11A, a vertical slit 12 is defined in the virgin seal body 11 and has a pinch portion 13 provided with a slip stopping portion 14 at the opened portion thereof, and the nozzle head 3 is fixed to its top dead center by the virgin seal body 11 when the liquid discharging apparatus is not used.
The liquid discharging apparatus of the invention has the virgin seal body 11 integrated with the cap 2 around the piston engagement hole 2a formed on the cap 2. The virgin seal body 11 is formed cylindrically and it is connected to the cap 2 by way of the thin portion 11A of the virgin seal body 11 along the piston engagement hole 2a. When the liquid discharging apparatus is used, the pinch portion 13 is pulled to rip the thin portion, so that the virgin seal body 11 can be easily and properly removed.
It is a matter of course to employ the construction combining not less than two of the inventions selected from the first to tenth aspect of the inventions.